Chapter 62: Si Mingcheng
Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Si Mingcheng
Ren Jintian had other matters to attend to and didn’t stay long. After exchanging contact information with Zhang Yan, he left.
The group of bosses who owned shops on this street surrounded Chi Chenghu, eagerly discussing lease renewals with him.
"The rent for the rest of you can stay the same, but not for you, Liu Dafu! Your rent is going up!"
"Don’t be like that, my family is already struggling to put food on the table," Liu Dafu said with an apologetic smile. A rent increase was tantamount to carving a piece of flesh from his heart.
"Struggling to put food on the table? I wonder who it was that said not too long ago that the money he made every day could drown me."
"I was just blowing hot air! Who doesn’t care about face these days? Old Chi, you can’t take that seriously!"
Zhang Yan glanced at Father Chi’s complexion. There was absolutely no trace of the deathly pallor of a cancer patient.
It made sense, really. Chi Chenghu’s liver cancer was only in its early stages and wasn’t that severe. His listlessness had stemmed more from a loss of hope and a weak will to live.
Now that his illness was curable and his life was looking up, he had gone from being an absolute nobody to a person of status. His daughter had also found her own happiness. The vitality in his entire being had visibly improved.
So there really was some twisted logic to that saying—there is only one disease in this world, and that is poverty.
Zhang Yan turned around and pinched his junior’s cheek.
"I have to head back soon. Regarding your dad’s surgery, I asked a senior of mine. He seems to have some connections, so I’ll go back and ask him in person for you."
"Senior~" Hearing that they were about to part ways, his junior was a bit reluctant. She threw herself into his arms, rubbing against him affectionately.
"Be a good girl. Call me if you run into any problems. It only takes three hours to get here from Meng City."
"Okay~"
Zhang Yan leaned in close to her ear. "Also, buy some anti-swelling medicine when you get back. If I hadn’t been supporting you while you walked today, you would’ve given yourself away."
His junior’s cheeks immediately flushed crimson.
It was already past five o’clock by the time he returned to Meng City.
At the Provincial University basketball court.
"Brother Gan," Zhang Yan called out to an agile figure on the court.
"Wait for me to finish this play."
Most of the classmates Zhang Yan knew were ordinary people, so naturally, they didn’t have any good connections when it came to medical resources.
Regarding Father Chi’s surgery, the only person he could think of was Brother Gan.
Brother Gan hadn’t disappointed. At the time, he had promised to arrange the best hospital and doctors in Beijing. For a little extra money, he could even secure priority matching for a liver transplant, though they needed to discuss the details in person.
With a Mamba-style follow-through, the basketball traced a beautiful arc through the air and swished right through the net.
A game-winning three-pointer!
"Not bad, Brother Gan. You’re getting more and more accurate."
"It’s not hard. It just takes pure practice."
Zhang Yan was already used to Brother Gan’s daily humblebragging and offered no comment.
"Where are we eating later? Fifty-Cent Skewers or the Joyful Union Sect?"
"Can you even stomach Fifty-Cent Skewers anymore?"
Zhang Yan knew exactly what Brother Gan was hinting at.
He used to be a kid from the most ordinary of families—the kind who ordered the cheapest takeout and only if he could use a coupon, and who wore his sneakers until they practically fell apart.
But ever since graduating college and "inheriting his family fortune," he frequented various high-end restaurants every day and was decked out in top-tier luxury brands from head to toe.
It was easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but hard to go from extravagance back to frugality.
Zhang Yan replied nonchalantly, "What’s not to stomach? I only go to those new places for the novelty of it. I’ve tried them all, and I feel like the taste is just okay. Some places are even on par with our cafeteria. Besides, you’re a rich and handsome guy, Brother Gan, yet you still bum meals off us every day. I haven’t seen you complain about the food."
"Heh, we really are alike," Brother Gan said cryptically before heading toward his dorm building. "I’m going to grab a quick shower. Wait for me a bit."
Outside the small north gate of Provincial University, at Fifty-Cent Skewers.
As the name suggested, the meat skewers here cost fifty cents each.
However, back when Zhang Yan first started college, the chunks of meat had been pretty substantial. Now, they were so small they were practically invisible.
"Boss, why don’t you just change the name to One-Yuan Skewers or Two-Yuan Skewers? The meat on these sticks is so tiny now, it isn’t even enough to get stuck in my teeth."
Brother Gan familiarly shot the breeze with the shop owner.
It seemed that whether it was a big boss in a suit and tie or an earthy waiter, Brother Gan could perfectly blend in and strike up a conversation.
"I can’t change it! My dad passed this shop down to me. I can’t let the brand die in my hands."
The customers burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Before long, most of their skewers had arrived, and the two chatted as they ate.
"Want a drink?" Brother Gan asked Zhang Yan, finding the food a little salty after a few bites.
"It’s just the two of us. The hell would we drink for?"
Zhang Yan had been painstakingly grinding his progress for days; naturally, he didn’t want to drink if he could avoid it. Besides, he and Brother Gan were two of a kind—neither of them actually liked drinking in private. They only ever drank a few glasses for the sake of socializing and making themselves appear more sociable.
"Boss, two bottles of cola. Ice cold."
Ever since they met up, Brother Gan had actually been observing Zhang Yan’s mood. Seeing that he didn’t look overly sad or depressed, he finally asked, "Zhang Yan, who in your family got liver cancer?"
"Ha, I was wondering why you were beating around the bush and avoiding the main topic for so long today! It’s not someone in my family. It’s Chi Xinyue’s father. You know, the junior we ran into last time we were eating barbecue at the Joyful Union Sect. The one with the Small Waist."
Si Mingcheng was visibly relieved to hear this. "Treating this disease will cost over a million yuan. Are you planning to marry her?"
Zhang Yan took a sip of cola as if he were downing a shot of strong liquor. With a melancholy expression, he said, "She should be the clear breeze, the drifting clouds, the most beautiful thing in the world. The only thing she shouldn’t be is a name on a marriage certificate."
Si Mingcheng smacked his lips, listening to Zhang Yan say the most scumbag thing imaginable in the most affectionate tone possible.
"Quit your yapping! How do you want to treat it? The most cost-effective way, or the way with the highest success rate? The price difference between the two could be a million yuan."
When asked about business, Zhang Yan stopped messing around and said seriously, "The treatment with the highest success rate will do. I can handle anything under ten million yuan."
With his current financial resources, he actually couldn’t handle it. However, his junior had money of her own—it was just "deposited" with him.
Si Mingcheng nodded. "Sure enough, we’re the same kind of people."
This was the second time today Brother Gan had expressed such a sentiment. Zhang Yan couldn’t help but laugh. "What, do you want to take me as your godfather? I already have three godsons, I don’t mind adding one more."
"Piss off. I’ll have news about the hospital in a few days. I’ll let you know when the time comes."
"Alright, I’ll thank you in advance then. Once her dad is cured, Yuyu and I will treat you to a meal."
The two clinked their glasses and tore through their meal like a whirlwind. When they were almost finished eating, Si Mingcheng’s expression grew a little more serious.
"Now that personal matters are out of the way, I need to talk to you about business."
Zhang Yan wiped his mouth. "Go ahead."